FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas was looking for a spark in its run game when the second half of the season began against Ole Miss.

Junior Dennis Johnson provided it during the 29-24 win, turning in a career day. But Johnson — who rushed for 160 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries — said after the win it was simply his best game “today,” insisting he had much more planned for the rest of the season.

“There’s more to come,” Johnson said.

Arkansas certainly hopes so. The back, who was named the SEC’s offensive player of the week for his work in the come-from-behind win, proved to be pretty valuable during the Hogs’ much-needed improvement on the ground.

Johnson accounted for 78 percent of Arkansas’ 206 rushing yards, which was the Razorbacks’ second-best effort in 2011. His 160 yards also was the biggest performance by an Arkansas ball carrier since Knile Davis ran for 187 in a win at Mississippi State last November.

Davis used last year’s Ole Miss win as a springboard for a second half in which he ran for 1,028 yards and 12 touchdowns in seven games. So was the Davis-like performance at Ole Miss a sign Johnson is ready to step into the featured role for the rest of this season, too?

“I mean, that’s hard to say right now,” coach Bobby Petrino said. “But he certainly was the hot hand the other day and we fed him as much as we could. He did a great job.”

Johnson’s big play was his 52-yard touchdown run on 3rd-and-14 in the second quarter, which helped the Hogs cut the Ole Miss lead to 17-7.

He averaged 10.7 yards an attempt and had six carries that went for 10 yards or more in the game, sprinting through big holes and grinding out extra yards in an important second half.

“It feels good stepping up and being the playmaker that they want me to be,” he said.

Johnson celebrated the win with Davis, who travels with the team while recovering from a fractured ankle, on the field afterward.

He also earned compliments from teammates after earning the SEC’s weekly award Monday.

“It put a smile on my face to see him get that honor,” fullback Keiro Small said. “He practices hard and he works hard. He’s just a really good running back. So he deserves it.”

Said defensive end Jake Bequette: “Dennis is a beast. There’s no other way to put it. He makes the first guy miss and the second guy feel it.”

At the very least, Arkansas did further define the threshold for Johnson’s big days last week.

He has three 100-yard rushing efforts in his career. Those also are the only games Johnson has 14 or more rushing attempts. He ran for 107 yards on 14 carries at Florida in 2009 and 127 yards on 18 carries against LSU in 2008.

Johnson’s 15-carries were the second-highest total in his career. He has 10 or more rushing attempts in only five career games, though.

“I thought it was the most decisive he’s been all year on his cuts,” Petrino said of Johnson’s play at Ole Miss. “And that does take reps. The more carries you get, the more vision, the more things that you see, the better you are going to make your cuts and that really showed up the other day.

“He had a great game for us.”

Johnson believes he can be the “hot hand” for the Arkansas offense the second half of the season if the Razorbacks need him. But he also said the running backs are “like a committee.”

Teammates Broderick Green and Ronnie Wingo Jr. combined for 11 yards on six carries last Saturday. They will continue to hold roles in Arkansas’ run game the rest of the season.

The key to Arkansas’ rushing success the rest of the way, though, appears to be Johnson.

“I’m ready to get a few more carries,” Johnson said. “A lot more carries, I hope.”